IMAGE  EVALUATION 
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Photographic 

Sdences 

Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

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i,5if  ^« 


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CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

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CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


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Coloured  covers/ 
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I      I    Covers  damaged/ 


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Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
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|~~|  Includes  supplementary  material/ 

"^n  Only  edition  available/ 


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10X  14X  18X  22X 


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'e 

Stalls 
IS  du 
nodifier 
tr  une 
ilmage 


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to  the  generosity  of: 

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The  images  ap^  earing  here  are  th.  best  quality 
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g6n6rosit6  de: 

Bibliothdque  nationale  du  Canada 


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conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 


IS 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
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or  illustrated  impression. 


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shall  contain  the  symbol  -^  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 


Les  exemplaires  originaux  dont  la  cliuverture  en 
papier  est  imprimde  sont  film6s  en  commen^ant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration,  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  selon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
originaux  sont  filmds  en  commengant  par  la 
premidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
dernidre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbole  --►  signifie  "A  SUIVRE  ",  le 
symbole  V  signifie  "FIN". 


Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustr&:e  the 
method: 


Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  dtre 
film^s  d  des  taux  de  reduction  diff6rents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  dtre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clichd,  il  est  fiimd  i  partir 
de  Tangle  supdrieur  gauche,  de  gauche  d  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  ndcessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mdthode. 


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to 


pelure. 


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.^i-Vs^^-r..-  j-^> 


I 


ALBION  AND  ERIN. 


A  VOKK  VUOM  THE 


ENGLISH  SIDE  OF  THE  IRISH 

QUESTION. 


ADDRESSED    TO 


THE  IRISH  NATIONAL  LEAGUE, 

OF 

AMERICA. 


BY 


GEO.  AMBROSE  MCNEILL 


OF 


NEW  BEUNSWICK,  B.  N.  A. 

AT  TOLEDO,  OHIO,  U.  S. 
Jan.  1886. 


-z^^ — ^-wr  ■<r^^-m-f-^-rv 


-,jj>SEft  ,^«,*.  >**£  tSi       j.r  »«  . 


NOTE.  *********  Oommunications 
may  be  addressed  to  the  author  of  this  pamphlet 
at,  London,  Ont.  B.  N.  A. 


I 


TO  THK 


IRISH  NATIONAL  LEAGUE, 


OF 


AMERICA. 


Mr.  President: 

I  would  respectfully  refer,  to  the  Irish  National 
League,  this  little  pamphlet  in  advocation  of  the 
English  side  of  the  Irish  question. 

Heretofore  not  a  voice  has  been  heard,  nor  a 
sentence  published  in  any  American  journal  in  be- 
half of  Great  Britain,  refuting  the  charges  made, 
and  anathemas  hurled  against  her  by  her  enemies  in 
the  United  States.  Having  closely  studied  the  Irish 
situation  and  England's  Irish  policy,  I  feel  that 
I  am  prepared  to  discuss  from  an  unbih..<*:d  stand- 
point, the  merits  and  demerits  of  the  Anglo-Irish 
controversy.     I  know  full  well  the  opinion  of  every 


C.'V  ■i^AX'^;A^^ic^\j, 


t  i 


?' 


land-leaguer  on  the  subject  of  F'nglish  supremacy, 
and  Irish  independence:  and  I  know  too;  that  when 
a  people  once  becomes  saturated  with  the  fallacious 
doctrines  of  revolution,  naught  but  the  strong  arm 
of  law,  or  the  mighty  iiand  of  Providence  can  ever 
subdue  them  into  loyal  subjecthood. 

The  Irish  in  America  and  their  sympathizers 
have  always  had  full  scojie  to  express  their  bitter- 
ness and  hate  against  England;  here  in  this — free  to 
plot — country,  the  disturbing  element  of  the  whole 
world  seems  to  have  concentrated  and  resolved  it- 
self into  a  huge  monster  of  revolution :  with  all 
due  respect  and  regard  for  the  feelings  of  Irishmen, 
I  frankly  confess  that,  with  the  uneasy  spirits  of 
Anarchism  I  class  the  so-called  "  Irisli  Cause,"  the 
motives  of  which  I  consider  sordid,  and  the  princi- 
ples of  which  biased,  bigoted  and  false. 

It  is  not  biased,  bigoted  and  false  to  be  poor  and 
wretched,  nor  is  it  always  thus  to  be  patriotic ;  but 
when  starvation  and  wretchedness  is  in  part  the 
product  of  bigotry,  and  patriotism  of  religious  and 
race  hatred;  then,  the  motive  is  sordid,  the  principles 
false,  and  the  cause  a  self-inflicting  curse  upon  the 


:) 


heads  of  its  unfortunate  dupes.     You  sjiy  that  one 
of  the  principal  causes  of  poverty  and  starvation  in 
Ireland  is  high  rent — true  it  is ;  you  say  that,  the 
sole  cause  of  high  rent  is  British  rule — that  is  false. 
Your  first  proposition  is  true,  but  not  all  embracing. 
High  rent  is  only  one  of   the   principal  causes  of 
starvation-^to  those  who  can  not  pay  it — but  it  is 
not  the  only  cause.     The  Celtic  Papist  has  always 
hated  the  Protestant  Saxon,  it  is  a  traditional  fact ; 
you  may  charge  the  origin  of  Saxon  hatred  to  feu- 
dalism, but  1  charge  it  to  religious  bigotry:     No 
people  on  the  face  of  the  earth  have  ever  been  so 
crushed  and  cursed  by  church  domination  as  the 
unfortunate   people  of    Ireland.     Whilst    you    are 
cursing  the  landlords — you  forget  the  lords  of  the 
church,  who,  in  fact  have  ever  been  your  hardest 
masters.     The  devotion  of  the  Irish  people  to  the 
Church  of  Rome  I  hold  as  worthy  of  the  admiration 
of  the  world ;  but  it  has  cost  them  more  than  the 
Church  of  Rome  can  ever  restore,  were  she  to  deliver 
to  them  to-morrow  the  keys  to  the  vaults  of  her 
untold  and  fabuloiB  wealth.     7)^  the  Irish  are  slaves 
under  "  landlordism  "  and  British  rule;  it  is  because 


til 


' 


il 


t 


Komo  un(/  n/ie  alone,  has  Uept  thoin  so  com;)letely 
under  the  tyranny  of  hor  own  domination. 

You  nuiy  say  that  this  is  the  sentiment  of  pro- 
testantism ;  but  allow  me  to  remind  you  that,  even 
to-day  not  one  of  youi'  s])eakei*s  can  deliver  an  ad- 
dress without  a  thrust  at  the  Orangemen.  Ah  ;  it 
is  the  same  old  theme ;  this  time  it  is  under  the 
guise  of  patriotism,  along  with  the  cry  of  *'  Liberty 
for  Ireland."  You  flaunt  the  bloody  Hag  of  religious 
intolerance.  Why  is  it  thus  ^  I  will  tell  you,  the 
Church  of  Kome  has  ever  instilled  into  the  mind  of 
Catholic  Ireland  tliat  it  shoiiltl  not  live  under  apro- 
testant  croivn:  This  is  the  higotry  1  refer  to,  and  out 
of  it  springs  another  of  the  principal  causes  of  Irish 
poverty  and  starvation. 

In  refutation  of  what  I  have  stated,  you  may 
hold  up  the  fact  that,  the  present  leader  of  the  Irish 
league  is  a  protestant,  and  that  you  have  elected 
protestants  to  a  seat  in  Parliament ;  again  allow 
me  to  remind  you,  Mr.  President;  that,  it  is  not  the 
first  time  in  the  history  of  Ireland  that  the  tail  of 
the  devil  has  been  used  as  a  weapon  against  her 
opponents.     Having   stated  as  frankly  as  possible; 


I 


without,  I  iisauro  you,  Mr.  Prosidont,  any  intended 
offense;  I  would  now  state  othet'  truthful  tmmns  for 
another  cause  of  Irish  misery — attributed  to  Enghsh 
rule  and   landlordism.     Ireland  is  over  populated; 
and  a  very  great  portion  of  the  country  is  untillable 
and   sterile,  too  many  persons  must  live  from  the 
products  of  too  small  a  portion  of  land  ;  this  alone, 
if  every  landlord  was  to  leave  the  island  forever, 
and  all  the  land  equally  divided  among  the  people, 
would,  considering  the  uncertainty  of  the  seasons, 
make  even  a  fair  living  precarious  :     Taking  these 
facts  into  consideration,  and  bearing  in  mind  too;  that 
season  after  season  of  failure  in  crops  has  been  suc- 
ceeded by  a  heavy  importation  of  farm  produce  from 
America,  flushing  the  English  and  Irish  markets  at 
prices  utterly  ruinous,  not  only  to  the  Irish  pro- 
ducer— but  also  to  the  producer  throughout  Great 
Britain;  any  fair  minded  person  ought  to  be  able  to 
see  an  inevitable  cause  for  high   rent:     And  after 
such  a  prolonged  period  of  unfavorable  conditions,  a 
cause  for  such  high  rent  as  would  make  it  impossible 
for  one  class,  and  completely  discourage  another,  to 
rent  at  all ;  and  the  disparagement  of  the  landlord 


1 


8 


'  I 


'  If 
i 


?   ) 


who  must  have  high  rent,  or  else  give  out  the  land  at 
such  rates  as  would  entail  aught  but  worry  and  loss; 
now  you  curse  the  landlords  of  Ireland  for  doing 
just  what  the  capitalist,  and  large  farmer  in  America 
is  doing  every  day,  and  you  forget  too  that ;  some 
of  the  most  avaricious  and  domi^ieering  of  that  class 
m  this  country  are  Irishmen,  who  when  in  Ireland 
"  could  not  stand  landlordism."  You  say  that  the 
landlords  in  Ireland  are  all  cruel  and  overbearing. 
That  statement  is  biased,  and  needs  qualifying ;  but 
I  ask,  Have  the  Irish  people  ever  done  anything  to 
make  them  otherwise  ?  Have  not  the  Irish  tenantrv, 
fired  by  race  hatred  and  religious  prejudice  for  gen- 
erations past — aye:  for  centuries — lived  in  constant 
antagonism  toward  the  landlord  ?  always  threaten- 
ing violence,  and  frequently  carrying  out  their 
threats  ;  never  working  with  fidelity  and  good  will, 
their  holdings,  for  the  common  good  of  both  parties  \ 
forever  opposed  to  every  reform  of  English  origin, 
steeped  in  bicterness  against  the  owners  of  the  land 
whether  native  or  foreigner^  and  buoyed  up  with 
the  treasonable  and  communistic  idea  that  they  may 
some  day,  even  if  they  have  to  wade  through  rivers 


1(1 


I 


9 

of  blood,  get  the  land  for  nothing,  save  the  trouble 
of  driving  the  landlords  into  the  sea; 

You  can  not  deny  it,  Mr.  President,  I  have  heard 
you  talk ;  a^d  besides,  the  attitude  of  the  people  of 
Ireland  in  refusing  now  to  buy  land  when  offered 
them,  and  spurning  the  propositions  of  a  truly  gen- 
erous land  purchase  act,  warrants  the  assertion. 
Irish  sovereignty,  like  state  sovereignty,  is  a,  fallacy; 
Ireland  has  no  more  right  to  secede  from  the  sovereign 
kingdom  of  Great  Britain,  than  a  state  has  to  secede 
from  the  Union  of  the  United  States  :  and  like  those 
states  that  attempted  to  secede,  Ireland  shall  cer- 
tainly— should  she  attempt  rebellion — bring  down 
upon  her  already  suffering  people,  all  the  miseries  of 
war,  and  the  woes  and  bitterness  of  the  most  igno- 
minious defeat.  There  is  but  one  course  for  Ireland; 
and  for  the  sake  of  her  poor,  unhappy  children,  I 
would  to  God  that  she  might  pursue  it;  it  is  that 
of  tranquility,  through  completely  ignoring  all  polit- 
ical agitation  and  religious  prejudice;  acting  in  per- 
fect harmony  with  every  measure  intended  for  public 
good,  abandoning  the  old  and  ruinous  follies  of 
independence,  spurning  the  voice  and  counsel  of 


10 

ambitious  and  selfish  agitators  whose  highest  aim  is 
self-aggrandizement  and  personal  gain.  England  is 
not  a  hard  government  to  live  under;  and  no  nation 
on  earth  is  so  prompt  to  protect  and  defend  the 
rights  of  her  subjects,  regardless  of  race,  color  or 
station  in  life.  England  is  the  mother  of  religious 
liberty  and  human  rights;  she  was  the  first  to 
strike  asunder  the  chains  of  oppression  that  galled 
the  flesh  of  human  slaves.  When  the  prptestant 
religion  ascended  the  throne  of  England,  the  banner 
of  religious  liberty  and  freedom  to  all  mankind  was 
unfurled  to  the  world.  Loyalty  to  Great  Britain  is 
the  key  to  the  banquet  hall  of  plenty  and  content; 
It  is  a  pernicious  falsehood  that  old  Britannia  hates 
her  Irish  children.  She  has  long  been  grieved  by 
their  ungrateful  conduct,  and  she  longs  to  hold  them 
in  the  paternal  embrace  of  protection  and  equality 
that  she  gives  to  all  her  children ;  whilst  in  devo- 
tion she  bows  at  the  shrine  of  her  established 
church;  she  respects  a>nd protects  the  right  of  those  of 
her  children  who  worship  at  a  Komish  altar. 

O,   Innisfail!    when  I  think   how   in  blindness 
you  have  been  led  into  misery  and  wrong  by  heart- 


IS 


1 


11 

less  aspira^.ts,  and  accursed  intrigue,  my  heart  bleeds 
with  pity  lid  my  soul  shrinks  at  the  thought  of  the 
unhappy  tate*  that  surely  awaits  you,  if  you  pur- 
sue the  gaunt  spectre  of  rebellion,  and  the  ignis 
fatuus  of  independence. 

GEO.  AMBROSE  M^'  NEILL. 

To  Me.  Patrick  Egan, 

President,  Irish  National  League, 

of  America, 

Lincoln,  Neb.,  U.  S. 


I 


